Sport is much more than competition or physical exercise. For Pope Leo XIV, it constitutes an authentic school of values capable of educating in respect, fraternity, and personal growth. This is the prayer intention that the Holy Father proposes for the month of June, inviting the faithful to discover the human and spiritual potential of sporting practice.
Friar Antonio Carrón de la Torre, General Councilor of the Order and member of Athletica Vaticana, reflected on this topic during an interview granted to Radio Vaticana-Vatican News.
As the religious explains, the positive valuation of sport is part of the Christian vision of the person, understood as an integral reality in which body, mind, and spirit are called to develop harmoniously.
“The physical dimension is a fundamental aspect of the person. The Church has always kept this reality very much in mind, along with the importance of the body as a place of encounter with God ,” he points out.
An ecclesial experience alongside Pope Leo XIV
Carrón recently participated in several events during the apostolic journey that Leo XIV made to Spain. For the Augustinian Recollect, those days represented a deeply ecclesial and also familial experience, especially for the great Augustinian family.
“It was the joy of receiving the Holy Father, but also that of receiving a brother”, he affirms when recalling the meetings held in Madrid, where he participated in the prayer vigil, the celebration of Corpus Christi, and other mass events.
At various moments during the trip, the Pope referred to sport as a privileged field for promoting the balance between body, mind, and spirit—a dimension that the religious considers essential in any process of human and Christian formation.
Sport in Augustinian life
Although sport does not occupy an exclusive place within Augustinian spirituality, it is part of the integral formation of the religious.
Friar Antonio recalls that during his own formative process, physical activity was always encouraged as an aid to develop all dimensions of the person: the affective, the relational, the intellectual, and the spiritual.
“Sport integrates many elements of our life. It is relationship, effort, discipline, and also interiority ”, he explains.
In disciplines such as long-distance running, which he practices regularly, he also discovers privileged moments of encounter with himself. This is an experience shared by other members of Athletica Vaticana, including Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, Archbishop of Algiers, who often describes long runs as authentic spaces for prayer.
Athletica Vaticana: running for peace and fraternity
Since its creation, Athletica Vaticana has sought to promote the values that the Holy See wishes to transmit through sport: inclusion, encounter, solidarity, and peace.
For this reason, every competition begins with a prayer, and many of the major sporting events in which the Vatican delegation participates are accompanied by liturgical celebrations.
“The presence of the Holy See in sport is already a message in itself”, Carrón states. “Beyond records or results, it is about remembering values that can help build a more humane society”.
The Friar explained that the experience of running in the kit of Athletica Vaticana frequently generates opportunities for dialogue and evangelization.
“Many people ask what Athletica Vaticana is or what it represents. These are simple occasions to share the faith and explain the message behind it ”.
A universal language that unites peoples
One of the aspects highlighted by Leo XIV in his prayer intention is the ability of sport to break down barriers and bring cultures closer together.
For Friar Antonio, this dimension is rooted in the very history of sport, from the ancient Olympic truce to contemporary initiatives that seek to foster peace among peoples.
“Sport is a call to harmony and encounter. It invites us to set aside what separates us and focus on what truly unites us ”, he affirms.
In an international context marked by conflicts and divisions, he considers that sport can become a universal language capable of building bridges and generating spaces for coexistence.
An open door to transcendence
When asked how to jointly promote sport and prayer among young people, the religious finds a natural connection between both realities.
“Practicing sport leads you to encounter others, but also yourself. And prayer likewise starts from a personal experience that ends up opening to the community ”.
From a deeply Augustinian perspective, Carrón recalls the words of Saint Augustine: “Do not go outward; return within yourself; in the inward man dwells truth”.
For this reason, he considers that the effort, discipline, and personal growth required by sport can become a school of interiority.
“Sport is also an open door to transcendence. God dwells in every person and, in that encounter with our own interior, we can discover His presence ”.
